AES Journal Forum

PSST! Product Sound Sketching Tool

Designing and evaluating a product’s sound during the conceptual phase is both more effective and efficient. Many products produce sounds that are intentional (such as the ring of a phone) and as artifacts (such as the motor noise of a vacuum cleaner). In most cases, the sonic aspects of a product are considered after the design is mostly complete where the choices are limited. A tool that allows sounds to be “sketched” is suggested as a means for industrial designers to begin the sound design process at the earliest stages. A preliminary analysis suggests that an inexperienced sound designer can successfully sketch a sound with the appropriate adjectives.